Dirty Data: 60% of Internet users lie when asked for personal data

Up to a quarter of the information in the hands of organizations could be false, according to Hocelot.

How truthful are the data that Internet users bring to companies?

According to Hocelot, 60% of Internet users lie when asked for data . Or, at least, they provide some information that is not true.

Thus, in the era of Big Data, companies are faced with the problem of Dirty Data or all that volume of data accumulated in databases that are not correct, that are incomplete, that are not updated or that are even duplicated . It is, in Hocelot’s opinion, the “biggest enemy companies face in terms of information”.

In fact, their calculations suggest that up to a quarter of the information in the hands of organizations could be false , due to data that are erroneously delivered by the users themselves.

And why are false data provided? Sometimes it can be a simple typo. But most of the time there is an intentionality behind it. For example, so that companies can not identify themand launch campaigns online or to change in the segment in which they are included, either by age or by other aspects such as the geographical area. Hocelot says that 23% of users falsify their birth date occasionally. Another reason is the criminal and illegal purposes.

“Big Data has become the fastest way to know the behavior of consumers, their needs or their intentions of consumption in the near future. In fact, all this information is configured as the key tool to establish business strategies that maximize results. However, if having large amounts of information is very important, the veracity of all these data is even more decisive, “comments Antonio Camacho, founder of Hocelot .

“Companies face a serious problem when they launch into Big Data, since not all the information they collect is true,” Camacho adds. “The Dirty Data is, therefore, a new challenge that companies must face if they want to reduce the risks of losses related to identity fraud . “